According to authorities, no fewer than 16 people died, and 40 others were injured after a four-storey building collapsed on a smaller one on Sunday in Douala, Cameroon.

“We heard people screaming … and struggled to help some out of the wreckage, but could not do it with our spades and (garden) hoes,” said Gaspard Ndoppo, a resident who lives close to the site of the collapse.

Fire brigade personnel from the military have been ordered to join the country’s Red Cross and others in searching for survivors. 

The governor of the Littoral region, where the Douala is located, Dieudonne Ivaha Diboua, said the number of casualties could rise as rescue operations continue.

“The casualty figures may be higher,” said Mr Diboua. 

He added, “Rescue workers, assisted by Cameroon government troops, are still digging the wreckage to see if more bodies can be recovered.”

Douala has been susceptible to building collapses recently, sometimes due to natural disasters such as landslides and poor construction, according to residents there.

Douala’s city council had begun to demolish houses in high-risk zones prone to floods and landslides before the collapse. 

However, the building that collapsed on Sunday was not marked for demolition by the council.